Financial Survey: SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) vs. Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP)

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) and Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Dividends

SunCoke Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Alliance Resource Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.8%. SunCoke Energy pays out 63.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliance Resource Partners pays out 127.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SunCoke Energy has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares SunCoke Energy and Alliance Resource Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunCoke Energy	3.53%	9.11%	3.77%
Alliance Resource Partners	10.88%	14.75%	9.32%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SunCoke Energy and Alliance Resource Partners”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SunCoke Energy	$1.94 billion	0.35	$95.90 million	$0.76	10.41
Alliance Resource Partners	$2.45 billion	1.28	$360.86 million	$1.88	12.97

Alliance Resource Partners has higher revenue and earnings than SunCoke Energy. SunCoke Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alliance Resource Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for SunCoke Energy and Alliance Resource Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunCoke Energy	0	2	0	0	2.00
Alliance Resource Partners	1	1	2	0	2.25

SunCoke Energy currently has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.34%. Alliance Resource Partners has a consensus price target of $29.50, indicating a potential upside of 21.02%. Given SunCoke Energy’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe SunCoke Energy is more favorable than Alliance Resource Partners.

Risk & Volatility

SunCoke Energy has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliance Resource Partners has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.5% of SunCoke Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.1% of Alliance Resource Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of SunCoke Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Alliance Resource Partners shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Alliance Resource Partners beats SunCoke Energy on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc. operates as an independent producer of coke in the Americas and Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Coke, Brazil Coke, and Logistics. It offers metallurgical and thermal coal. The company also provides handling and/or mixing services to steel, coke, electric utility, coal producing, and other manufacturing based customers. In addition, it owns and operates cokemaking facilities in the United States and Brazil. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois.

About Alliance Resource Partners

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., a diversified natural resource company, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Illinois Basin Coal Operations, Appalachia Coal Operations, Oil & Gas Royalties, and Coal Royalties. It produces a range of thermal and metallurgical coal with sulfur and heat contents. The company operates seven underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In addition, it owns and leases oil and gas mineral interests and equity interests; and leases its coal mineral reserves and resources to its mining complexes; and leases land and operates a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Further, the company offers various mining technology products and services, including data network, communication and tracking systems, mining proximity detection systems, industrial collision avoidance systems, and data and analytics software. It also exports its products. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.